(to be presented by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands)

II. Questions

1.Mr MA Fung-kwok to ask :(Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

of the measures in place to control the use of pyrotechnics and explosives by the film industry in shooting films, and how such control is exercised currently;

whether it will consider establishing a "film blasters" licensing system so that competent persons will be able to obtain the requisite licence upon passing a qualifying examination and use pyrotechnics and explosives lawfully for the purpose of shooting films; and

if the answer to (b) is in the affirmative, what specific criteria will be adopted by the Broadcasting, Culture and Sport Bureau to assess the competence of applicants for the licence; and whether training courses will be provided to assist film workers in obtaining the licence?

Public Officer to reply :

Secretary for Broadcasting, Culture and Sport

2.Mrs Elsie TU to ask :

Will the Government inform this Council whether all prisoners of British, European and North American nationalities serving prison terms in Hong Kong were sent back to their countries of origin shortly before the reunification of Hong Kong with the Mainland, while requests for the same treatment from prisoners whose countries of origin are in the "Third World" were rejected; if so, what the relevant details were?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

3.Mr CHAN Choi-hi to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

of the actions taken by the Education Department in dealing with those institutions of continuing education and tutorial schools which enroll students prior to registration as a school under the relevant legislation;

of the number of complaints against such institutions received by the Education Department over the past three years, and the nature of such complaints; and

whether the Education Ordinance will be amended to stipulate that all institutions of continuing education and tutorial schools be not allowed to enrol students before registration?

Public Officer to reply :

Secretary for Education and Manpower

4.Mr LO Suk-ching to ask : (Translation)

On 16 July this year, the Immigration Department published a list of countries and regions with which visa-free arrangements have been made, thus enabling persons from about 170 countries and regions to visit Hong Kong on a visa-free basis and stay for periods varying from not more than 7 days to 1 month, 3 months or 6 months. The list shows that only British citizens may stay in Hong Kong for 6 months. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the reasons for according Britain a visa-free arrangement which is different from those granted to other countries, bearing in mind that Hong Kong and Britain are no longer bound by any special constitutional relationship after the change of sovereignty?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

5.Mr CHENG Yiu-tong to ask : (Translation)

It is learnt that the British Hong Kong government had indicated that it would, before the change of sovereignty, complete the task of mapping out a comprehensive manpower training strategy for Hong Kong straddling the next century. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

whether the British Hong Kong government had formulated the above manpower training strategy for Hong Kong before 1 July; if so, what the contents are; if not, why not; and

if the reply to the first part of (a) above is in the negative, whether the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is making efforts to take up this task; if so, of the estimated timeframe for promulgating and implementing the relevant strategy; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply :

Secretary for Education and Manpower

6.Mr IP Kwok-him to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

of the major problems encountered by various departments in the implementation of the Basic Law, as well as the nature of such problems;

as it is reported that the Department of Justice lacks the relevant data and manpower in handling problems encountered by various departments in the implementation of the Basic Law, whether the Government has any plans to rectify the situation; if so, of the details of such plans; if not, why not; and

given the problems encountered by Government departments in the implementation of the Basic Law, whether the Government will strengthen the training of civil servants in this regard; if so, what the details are?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Justice

* 7.Mr James TIEN to ask : (Translation)

According to operators in the container transport industry, most of the sites in San Tin reserved by the Government for container back-up use are still being used as fish ponds. As these sites are not easily accessible and have no drainage facilities, they are not suitable for use as container back-up areas. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the measures in place to resolve the above problems, and whether it is possible to identify other suitable sites for the operators of the existing container yards and car parks for container trucks in San Tin to carry on their business;

of the proportion of the containers stored in the container yards and the car parks for container trucks in San Tin to the total number of containers in Hong Kong; and

whether it has any plan to provide, in the vicinity of Lok Ma Chau border control point, a car park for large container trucks and a container yard for temporary storage of containers?

Public Officer to reply :

Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

* 8.Mr CHAN Kam-lam to ask : (Translation)

Residents in Kwun Tong have complained that some slopes in the district have been illegally used for growing vegetables, resulting in a loosening of the earth and thus endangering the safety of the slopes concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

the authorities concerned are aware of the above situation; if so, whether any actions have been taken to clear the illegal cultivation in the slopes concerned;

similar incidents have occurred, or similar complaints received, in other districts;

prosecutions have been instituted against the offenders and if so, what the penalties are; and

the Government will conduct a territory-wide survey on such illegal use of slopes, in particular the slopes which are in the vicinity of residential buildings and housing estates, so as to safeguard public safety?

Public Officer to reply :

Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

* 9. Mr CHOY Kan-pui to ask :(Translation)

It is learnt that some persons were arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption recently for involvement in certain public housing maintenance works which were suspected to be carried out with inferior materials and workmanship. In this regard, does the Government know whether the authority concerned will take any actions or remedial measures to ensure that those maintenance works suspected to be carried out with inferior materials and workmanship will not affect public safety; if so, what the details are?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

*10. Mr CHIM Pui-chung to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

of the total number of cases in which the defendant was convicted of contempt of court, in the past three years;

of the maximum penalty imposed in the above cases; and

given that the judge can be responsible for both prosecution and adjudication in the trial of cases of this nature, whether the authority concerned will review such a situation?

Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

*11.Mrs Miriam LAU to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of:

the average daily traffic volume of each of the three cross-harbour tunnels in the territory since the Western Harbour Crossing was opened to traffic on 30 April this year, together with their respective traffic volumes during the rush hours in the morning (i.e. from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.) as well as during the rush hours in the evening (i.e. from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.); and

the types of vehicles using the three cross-harbour tunnels, together with their respective proportions to the average daily traffic volume in each of the three tunnels?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*12. Mr James TIEN to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government undertake a thorough comparison between the tax incentives offered to industrial and commercial corporations by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and those by our neighbouring major competitors such as South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia, so that the industrial and commercial sectors in Hong Kong can make reference to such a comparison when giving their views on the "Profits Tax Review Consultation Document"?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

*13.Mrs Miriam LAU to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

whether statistics are available on traffic accidents occurring on roads in village areas; if so, of the number of such accidents involving pedestrians in each of the past three years;

of the speed limits imposed on roads in village areas;

what measures are in place to ensure the safety of pedestrians if both vehicles and pedestrians are allowed to use these roads; and

whether it will consider building road humps on these roads in order to reduce the speed of vehicles?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*14. Mrs Peggy LAM to ask : (Translation)

As the families of new arrivals from the Mainland who have come to settle in Hong Kong generally have a large number of children, will the Government inform this Council what measures are in place to assist them in family planning?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*15. Mr CHAN Choi-hi to ask : (Translation)

It is reported that since the implementation of the Electricity (Wiring) Regulations, tests on electrical installations have yet to be carried out in some 75% of buildings in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the measures adopted by the department concerned to expedite completion of tests on electrical installations in these buildings;

whether the procedure for tests on electrical installations will be streamlined so as to assist Owners ' Corporations, mutual aid committees and property owners to complete the tests as early as possible; and

whether greater emphasis will be given to publicising the stipulations of the Regulations; if so, of the publicity strategy to be adopted?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*16.Mr LAU Kong-wah to ask : (Translation)

In view of the poor air quality in recent days, particularly on 19 and 20 August, will the Government inform this Council:

of the causes leading to the poor air quality in recent days;

of the long-term and interim measures in place to tackle the problem of poor air quality;

whether the poor air quality situation has occurred more frequently in recent years; and

of the effect of such a situation on the health of the general public?

Public Officer to reply :

Secretary for Planning,
Environment and Lands

*17. Mr HUI Yin-fat to ask : (Translation)

In March/April this year, the Government revealed to the former Legislative Council and social service organizations that two studies on elderly recipients of assistance under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) scheme were being conducted. One of the studies focused on the living conditions of the elderly who were CSSA recipients, while the other centred on studying the living conditions of the elderly who were eligible for CSSA but had not applied for it as well as their reasons for not applying. The Government indicated at the time that the results of these studies would be taken into account when a review of the rate of CSSA payment for the elderly and other aspects of the CSSA scheme, such as the prescribed asset limit, was undertaken. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

the two studies mentioned above have been completed; if so, when the results will be released;

elderly groups, social service organizations and the public will be consulted on the findings of the studies; if not, why not; and

the Government will consult elderly groups, social service organizations and the public when undertaking a review of the rate of CSSA payment for the elderly and the prescribed asset limit; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*18. Mr CHIM Pui-chung to ask : (Translation)

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government recently lent US$1 billion from its Foreign Exchange Fund to Thailand for rescuing the Thai baht. However, the arrangement was not made by means of a bilateral repurchase agreement through the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the nature and effects of the bilateral repurchase agreements made between the HKMA and its counterparts in the relevant countries;and

whether the procedures for using the Foreign Exchange Fund to assist foreign countries will be reviewed; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

*19. Mr NGAN Kam-chuen to ask : (Translation)

It was reported that the branch manager of a securities company went missing recently and some investors suspected that they had been cheated of large sums of money. In this connection, does the Government know:

how the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) supervises broker ' s firms to ensure their strict compliance with the "Management, Supervision and Internal Control Guidelines for Persons Registered with or Licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission" so as to protect the rights and interests of investors;

whether the SFC has investigated, or has taken any disciplinary action against, those broker ' s firms which were alleged to have breached the above Guidelines since the promulgation of the Guidelines;

of the present progress of the plan under which investors can open individual Investor Accounts directly with the Central Clearing and Settlement System; and

of the measures which will be adopted by the SFC to enhance individual investors ' knowledge of their own rights and interests?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

* For written reply.

III. Bills

Second Reading

Debates to resume

Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 1997 :

Chief Secretary for Administration

Committee Stage and Third Reading

Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 1997 :

Chief Secretary for Administration

IV. Members' Motions

1.Council emblem

Dr C H LEONG :

(Translation)

(See Resolution at Appendix)

2.Setting up of "Senior citizen's Paradise"

Mr WONG Siu-yee :

(Translation)

That this Council urges the Government to consider setting up of "Senior citizen's Paradise", so as to provide the elderly with the opportunity to develop their potential, and enable them to receive higher quality and more comprehensive geriatric care.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Health and Welfare

3.Supervising Hong Kong railways

Mr LAU Kong-wah :

(Translation)

That as the railways in Hong Kong will soon launch vast development projects, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously set up an independent statutory organization tasked with the responsibility of coordinating and regulating each development project as well as supervising the ticketing systems and fares of each of the railways; and also requests the two railway companies to increase their transparency and accountability, so as to attain the targets of meeting public's interests and adhering to the principle of prudent commercial operations.

Amendments to Mr LAU Kong-wah's motion

1.Mrs Miriam LAU :

(Translation)

To delete "expeditiously set up an independent statutory organization tasked with the responsibility of coordinating and regulating each development project as well as supervising the ticketing systems and fares of each of the railways" and subsitute with "undertake a comprehensive review for the purposes of strengthening the planning and coordination of each development project and the supervision of the ticketing and fare systems of each of the railways".

2.Mr CHEUNG Hon-chung : (Translation)

To delete "set up an independent statutory organization tasked with the responsibility of coordinating and regulating each development project as well as supervising the ticketing systems and fares of each of the railways" and substitute with "review the mechanism for planning and coordinating each development project, and expand the composition and terms of reference of the Transport Advisory Committee, so as to enable the Committee to strengthen the supervision of the service and ticketing systems of each of the railways and examine their fares".

3.Mr CHAN Choi-hi : (Translation)

To insert "and representative" before "statutory organization"; and to delete "tasked with the responsibility of coordinating and regulating each development project as well as supervising the ticketing systems and fares of each of the railways; and also requests the two railway companies to increase their transparency and accountability, so as to attain the targets of meeting public's interests and adhering to the principle of prudent commercial operations with wide representation" and substitute with "to supervise the operations of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation and the Mass Transit Railway Corporation, plan and coordinate each railway development project, and increase the transparency and accountability of the two railway companies; and also urges the Government to amend the relevant legislation to require the two railway companies to seek the prior approval of the legislature before increasing their fares".